NJ Co. Presses 3rd Circ. To Nix Hudson Tunnel Project PLA

By Tom Lotshaw

A New Jersey company has urged the Third Circuit to scrap a project labor agreement the Gateway Development Commission entered for the Hudson Tunnel Project, claiming the agreement unlawfully blocked it and its United Steelworkers employees from vying for a major segment of the project.

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Developer Says Power Broker, Atty Brother Seek Rushed Ruling

By George Woolston

A Philadelphia-based developer has told a New Jersey state court that South Jersey power broker George Norcross and his attorney brother's opposition to his bid to amend his suit is really an effort to get an untimely ruling.

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Chevron Gets Steel Firm's NJ Soil Cleanup Suit Pared Down

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey federal judge tossed contract claims from a Maryland-based steel company accusing Chevron USA Inc. of failing to clean up pesticide contamination at a New Jersey industrial site, while allowing environmental and indemnity counts to proceed.

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Hyundai, Kia Face Claims Over Defective Charging System

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group is facing a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court alleging it sold defective charging units and benefited financially from covering up the problems.

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Frontier Pays Flight Attendants Only While In Air, Suit Says

By MJ Koo

Frontier Airlines underpaid flight attendants by compensating them only for time spent in the air while requiring hours of unpaid work before and after each flight, according to a proposed class action filed in New Jersey federal court.

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Family Files Negligence Suit Over NY Helicopter Crash

By Linda Chiem

The estates of the Barcelona family who died in a helicopter crash over the Hudson River last year have accused the New York tour charter company and its owner of negligently maintaining the helicopter, which broke apart midair, according to a new Manhattan state court complaint.

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Costco Says '100% Agave' Tequila Suit Belongs In Mexico

By Ben Adlin

Costco has urged a Washington federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the retailer of falsely labeling its Kirkland Signature tequila as made from pure agave, arguing that a U.S. court exercising jurisdiction over the case would interfere with Mexico's "exclusive sovereign authority to determine what is and is not 100% agave tequila."

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Prediction Market Platform Probes Merit Strategic Responses

As the battle over the regulation of prediction markets is being waged between states and the federal government, investigations into insider trading allegations are increasingly originating from inside the exchanges themselves, creating obvious risks for market participants — as well as opportunities, say attorneys at Kobre & Kim.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

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Norton Rose Faces $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright was sued in Illinois state court Tuesday by an advertising tech company claiming that the law firm mishandled a patent application and caused it to be deemed withdrawn, but kept the company in the dark about the loss of its valuable patent rights for over a year.

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Lockheed Birth Defect Trial Judge 'Disappointed' By Attys

By Cara Salvatore

A Florida federal judge said Tuesday he's "puzzled and disappointed" in counsel who appear "unprepared" on the eve of trial in a suit by children who blame their birth defects on Lockheed Martin's chemical handling practices at an Orlando defense system manufacturing and research facility.

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Hunter Biden Blasts Winston & Strawn Tactics In Fee Row

By Emily Sawicki

As a discovery dispute between Hunter Biden and Winston & Strawn LLP drags on amid a suit over allegedly unpaid legal bills, the former president's son accused the BigLaw firm, which once represented him in a Delaware criminal case and other matters, of resorting to "what is uncomfortably close to an ad hominem attack" against him.

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Analysis

Bondi's Proposed Rule Change May Shield Her In Ethics Case

By Phillip Bantz

A federal rule change that Pam Bondi proposed before she was fired as U.S. attorney general could stymie an ethics complaint against her in Florida, which is expected to be refiled after the state bar declined to take up the case during her tenure, experts say.

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Messner Reeves Accused Of $8.3M Trust Account Fraud

By Zach Dupont

Colorado law firm Messner Reeves LLP was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court from five businesses claiming it stole more than $8 million from them in a fraudulent loan scheme involving a now-defunct sports arena and hotel project in Las Vegas.

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Alston & Bird Says Goliath Investors Can't Claim Malpractice

By Carolina Bolado

Alston & Bird LLP urged a Florida federal court on Wednesday to toss a malpractice suit claiming the firm facilitated a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Goliath Ventures Inc., arguing that the proposed class of Goliath investors who brought the suit were never clients of the firm.

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Analysis

House GOP Again Pushes Data Privacy Bill To Override States

By Allison Grande

House Republicans on Wednesday took their latest crack at establishing a cohesive nationwide data privacy framework, floating legislation that would give consumers more control over their personal information while preempting a growing patchwork of state laws, although early criticisms indicate that the issues that have long stymied these efforts persist.

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330+ Groups Urge DOJ To Restore Immigration Aid Staff

By Courtney Bublé

More than 300 legal services providers, faith-based institutions and community groups are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully restore a program that allows nonlawyers to assist low-income and indigent persons in immigration proceedings.

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Acting DOJ Inspector General Tapped For Permanent Post

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump has nominated the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general, who investigated the FBI's probe into Trump's links with Russia, to remain in that role on a permanent basis, according to a White House announcement.

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Paint Co. Says Injury Firm Used Stolen Data To Solicit Clients

By Abigail Harrison

A paint company has asked a North Carolina federal court to boot the opposing counsel in a putative data breach class action, accusing them of finding stolen data on the dark web and using it to solicit potential plaintiffs before victims were even notified of the breach.

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